Device and method for reeling-off wire from a wire coil

ABSTRACT

A wire consumer, such as a bale binder, draws wire from a wire coil on an unreeling device. The entire unreeling device is mounted on a wheel-supported frame, and it comprises a wire loop and an acceleration balancer which is effective when the wire consumer starts to draw wire out from the unreeling device. The wire loop comprises a wheel, which is loaded by a spring, and an air cylinder, which is coupled to the wheel for damping the acceleration of the wheel.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a reeling-off device for reeling off wire from a wire coil. The invention also relates to a method of reeling off wire from a wire coil to a bale binder by letting the bale binder intermittently draw the wire from the wire coil.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION AND KNOWN STATE OF ART

[0002] Bale binders, for example such as described in SE-C2-509 532, operate intermittently and feed wire for binding it around a bale, for example a paper pulp bale. After a first binding around operation, the bale usually is moved for a new binding around operation in parallel with and at a distance from the first one. The cycle time of the bale binder can be less than 5 seconds, and it could be reduced still more, if the wire speed and wire acceleration could be increased, but then the risk of snarl and knot formation on the wire at the reeling-off device increases. The acceleration and speed of the wire, therefore, must be balanced against the risk of process interruption

OBJECT AND SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The invention has the object to render possible higher wire acceleration and wire speed at intermittently reeling off of wire from a wire coil. This object is achieved in principle by associating to the reeling-off device an acceleration balancing means in the form of a wheel, over which the reeled off wire runs forth and back in a loop, where the wheel is movable substantially in the direction of the loop, in order at movement in one direction to reduce the loop length and at movement in the other direction to increase the loop length, and the wheel is loaded in said one direction. A special object is at reeling-off to a bale binder to allow the bale binder to draw the wire at a higher acceleration and top speed from the reeling-off device. This is achieved in principle by letting the wire run in a loop, which is loaded against increased loop length, and adjusting the load to the operation cycle of the bale binder, so that the loop length decreases when the bale binder draws wire, and retains its size until the bale binder ceases to draw wire. The loop length decreases when the bale binder draws wire and retains its size until the bale binder ceases to draw wire. The invention is defined in the attached claims.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004]FIG. 1 is a lateral view of a reeling-off device shown as an embodiment of the invention.

[0005]FIG. 2 is a lateral view taken at a right angle to the lateral view shown in FIG. 1.

[0006]FIG. 3 shows on an enlarged scale a detail shown in the preceding Figures.

[0007]FIG. 4 is a lateral view taken as indicated by the arrows 4-4 in FIG. 3.

[0008]FIG. 5 shows on an enlarged scale and by section a portion of FIG. 1.

[0009]FIG. 6 is a section taken along, the line 6-6 in FIG. 5.

[0010]FIG. 7 is a section taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION IN DETAIL OF THE EMBODIMENT SHOWN

[0011] The reeling-off device shown in the Figures comprises a wheel-supported steel frame 11 with an upright wire coil stand consisting of four pipes 13-16, the tops of which are bent inward to and welded on a sleeve 17. A coil 20 with wire, usually steel wire, is threaded on the wire coil stand 13-16, and a conical pipe structure 21 with a plastic ring 22 rests on the upper portion of the wire coil 20. The sleeve 17 carries a swivel 23 and a pipe structure 24 with a ring 25. The swivel has an eccentrically located guide wheel 19, the horizontal axis of which extends perpendicularly to the vertical axis of the sleeve 17. The pipe structure 21 is conical, but has a straight portion 27 with a slightly smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the wire coil 20. The pipe structure 21 is inserted into the wire coil 20, so that its straight portion 27 is guided by the wire coil, and the conical portion 28 above the straight portion rests on the wire coil. The pipe structure 21 is thereby fixed in the wire coil, but it can follow along with the upper portion of the wire coil downward when the wire coil gets shorter during the reeling-off operation. The pipe structure 21 is prevented from turning by the pipes 13-16 being located between four inward bent supports 38.

[0012] The plastic ring 22 is shown enlarged as the FIGS. 3 and 4. It has cast-in wires, which project out radially around its periphery as a rim of bristle 26. The wires are of a wear-resistant and flexible material, suitably a plastic as nylon, and their diameter should exceed 1 mm and can, for example, be 1-2 mm. Their projecting length can suitably be between 7 and 10 cm, and they can be arranged in one row as shown or in several rows. The plastic ring 22 is screwn onto the pipe structure 21, and the ring of bristle 26 will always have one and the same position in relation to the upper end of the wire coil when the upper end gets lowered during the reeling-off operation, because the pipe structure 21 rests on the wire coil with its conical portion 28 being located above the guiding straight portion 27. This design prevents the wire from being clamped during the reeling-off operation.

[0013] The wire 29 from the coil is led in an arc up to the guide wheel 19 of the swivel 23 and down through the sleeve 17 and therethrough down through the wire coil to a guide roller 30 and over two more guide rollers 31 and 32 and up to a guide wheel 33 and further over two guide wheels 34 and 35 to an outlet guide 36. The guide wheels 33 and 35 are mounted on a vertical plate 40, which is attached to the steel frame 11, and the guide wheel 34 is attached to a slide 41, which slides in a guide 42, which is attached to the plate 40.

[0014]FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section through the guide 42. As appears most clearly from the FIGS. 5-7, the guide 42 has the form of a slotted pipe. The guide wheel 34 is attached on a stud 43, which is fixed in the slide 41 and extends out through the slot 44 of the guide 42. The slide is attached on a tension spring 45, which tends to draw the slide up to the end position, in which it is shown in all Figures, so that the guide wheels 33,34,35 together form the wire to a balancing loop 51. An air cylinder 46 is attached to a bracket 47, which is attached to the frame 11, and the plate 40 is also attached to the bracket 47. The air cylinder 46 has its piston rod 48 attached to the slide 41, and the air cylinder has two throttled inlets/outlets 49,50 leading directly to the atmosphere. The entire reeling-off device is, as appears, very compact, and all details are carried on the wheel-supported frame 11, so that the reeling-off device easily can be moved as one unit. When a wire coil is emptied, the entire reeling-off device easily can be exchanged for a reeling-off device with a full wire coil. As the wire end projects out of the outlet guide 36, the exchange can be carried out very rapidly.

[0015] In non-operative position, when no wire is drawn from the outlet guide 36, the slide 41 and, thus, the guide wheel 34 are in the position shown in the Figures, and the wire loop 51 between the wheels 33 and 35 and over the wheel 34 then has its maximum length. When the wire consumer suddenly starts drawing wire from the outlet guide 36, the wire tension will draw down the guide wheel 34 and the slide 41 to the guide wheels 33 and 35, so that the wire loop 51 decreases and at the same time the reeling-off from the wire coil starts. The spring force from the tension spring 45 initially is small, and at the same time the air cylinder 46 initially has no braking effect, because there is atmospheric pressure in both chambers of the cylinder. The braking effect of the cylinder depends on the pressures in both cylinder chambers, and these pressures in their turn depend on the speed of the piston rod and distance run, because the inlets/outlets 49,50 constitute constant throttles. The braking effect of the cylinder, thus, increases at the same time as the braking spring force increases, as the guide wheel 34 accelerates to the guide wheels 33 and 35 and causes the balancing loop 51 to decrease. When the wire then suddenly stops to be drawn from the outlet guide 36, the cylinder 46 initially will co-operate with the spring 45 in order to draw back the guide wheel 34 and thereafter begin to brake the movement of the guide wheel 34 at the same time as the spring force decreases.

[0016] A bale binder causes high acceleration on the wire at the outlet guide 36, but the controlled movement of the guide wheel 34 implies that the wire acceleration at the wire coil will be much lower, because the balancing loop 51 decreases during the acceleration. When the bale binder then suddenly stops the wire feed, the kinetic energy will imply that the reeling-off does not stop equally suddenly, but the wire length caused by the difference in deceleration is taken up by the increasing balancing loop, which reduces the risk of snarls and knots. The invention, therefore, renders possible better accessibility and increased wire feed speed. The wire feed speed can exceed 4,5 m/s without risk of interruption of the process even when an entire binding cycle takes less than 5 seconds. When the bale binder draws the wire with an acceleration, which becomes a constantly high speed during the final phase of the wire feed, the guide wheel must not move upward so much before the feed stop, that the loop 52 is so great that it after the feed stop cannot take up all surplus wire. It is therefore necessary to adjust the spring 45 and brake cylinder 46 to the properties of the bale binder, so that the load on the guide wheel 34 and thereby on the balancing loop 51 is adjusted to the operation cycle of the wire consumer/bale binder.

[0017] When the bale binder draws the wire 29 from the outlet guide 36 of the reeling-off device via the guide wheels 33-35, the guide wheel 19 of the swivel 23 will follow along in the reeling-off of the wire, and the wire 29 will skid against the ring of bristle 26 and against the steel ring 25. The bristle ring 26 of the reeling-off device also reduces the risk of snarl and knot formation, because it continuously brakes the wire 29. At the same time as the bristle ring constitutes a brake with sufficient braking effect at sudden stops, it does not cause a detrimental braking effect at the start. Too strong a braking effect at the start could cause wire fracture. The bristle ring 26, therefore, increases the accessibility still more. 

1-8 (canceled).
 9. Apparatus for unreeling wire from a wire coil comprising mounting means for mounting said wire coil, loop means for creating a loop of said wire extending in a predetermined plane as said wire is unreeled from said mounting means, said loop means including at least one wheel over which said wire runs while being unreeled through said loop, and acceleration balancing means for moving said at least one wheel in said predetermined plane whereby when said at least one wheel moves in a first direction in said predetermined plane the length of said loop decreases and in a second direction in said predetermined plane the length of said loop increases, said acceleration balancing means loading said wheel in said first direction.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said acceleration balancing means includes a spring for loading said wheel in said first direction, and damping means coupled to said at least one wheel for damping the acceleration of said wheel.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said damping means comprises an air cylinder including a throttle for connecting said cylinder to the atmosphere.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said air cylinder comprises a double acting air cylinder including a pair of cylinder chambers, each of said pair of cylinder chambers including a throttle for connecting said cylinder chamber to the atmosphere.
 13. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said mounting means comprises a frame, a stand mounted on said frame for said wire coil, a swivel coaxially mounted with respect to said stand for guiding said wire from said wire coil through said stand, and guide means for guiding said wire from said stand to said acceleration balancing means, said acceleration balancing means being mounted on said frame adjacent to said stand.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 including a ring including outwardly directed bristles disposed on said stand between said wire coil and said swivel, said ring being coaxially disposed with respect to said wire coil, whereby said wire is drawn along said outwardly directed bristles during said unreeling of said wire.
 15. A method for unreeling wire from a wire coil to a bale binder whereby said bale binder can intermittently unreel from said wire coil, said method comprising forming said wire into a wire loop during said unreeling of said wire, loading said wire loop against increasing the length of said wire loop, and adjusting said loading of said wire in response to said intermittent operation of said bale binder, whereby the length of said wire loop decreases when said bale binder draws said wire from said wire loop and retains its length until said bale binder stops drawing said wire from said wire coil.
 16. The method of claim 15 including guiding said wire from said wire coil upwardly over a swivel, and downwardly through said wire coil and then outwardly therefrom into said wire loop. 